In her review in The New York Times, Janet Maslin says, "The film does a lovely job of juxtaposing the sharp contrasts in Aaron's life, and in marveling at the fact that he survives as buoyantly as he does."[3] In its summary of Soderbergh's films, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote: "This subtle, affecting, character-driven, coming-of-age story is one of Soderbergh's best and most criminally overlooked films."[4]

The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 97% rating, based on reviews from 31 critics with an average score of 7.9/10, the site's critical consensus reads: " A subtle, affecting, character-driven coming-of-age story, King Of The Hill is one of Steven Soderbergh's best and most criminally overlooked films."[5]